Internet shutdowns are increasingly affecting democratic participation, according to a Surfshark Research Hub report examining internet freedom in 196 countries.
With elections set to take place in 90 countries this year, the virtual private network provider has published a detailed analysis of the countries that have been imposing internet restrictions since 2015 and its forecast for those most at risk in 2024.
According to Surfshark, Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia are emerging as the regions most affected by election-related internet clampdowns, with 29 and 28 instances, respectively, since 2015.
As the 2024 elections approach, research suggests that countries such as Mali, Malawi, Chad, Mauritania, India, Iran, Pakistan, and Bangladesh are of particular concern owing to their past actions regarding internet restrictions.
Iraq and India have been particularly notable for their internet outages. They are often justified by reasons ranging from ‘controlling exam cheating’ to ‘quelling protests’.
However, half of these outages have been linked to human rights abuses, specifically by restricting freedom of assembly.
India, for instance, due to run parliamentary elections this spring, has had four internet shutdowns since 2015. The introduction of new surveillance measures ahead of the latest election is already raising alarms.
Surfshark ranks Pakistan just behind Iran and India as the countries leading the list of regimes that imposed internet restrictions during the first half of last year.
Last week, TechInformed reported about Pakistan’s latest internet blackout. The shutdown occurred when Imran Khan’s opposition party was about to launch an online telethon to appeal for election funds.
According to Surfshark’s lead researcher Agneska Sablovskaja, there’s a strong connection between internet shutdowns and blackouts, digital censorship and broader violations of freedom.
“We’ve discovered that countries with a history of internet blackouts during elections score an average of 32 out of 100 on the global freedom scale. As a reminder, this scale measures personal, civil, and economic freedoms. 32 is significantly below the worldwide average of 58.”
Economic hit
The economic impact of these shutdowns is also severe. Research by Top10VPN indicates that all government internet outages cost the global economy $9.01 billion in 2023.
Russia appeared to be most impacted, accounting for almost half the global cost ($4.02 billion). Ethiopia ($1.59 billion) and Iran ($920.3 million) followed next on the list.
According to the Top10VPN research, these outages often manifest as total blackouts, social media blocks, or severe throttling.
Social media platforms were notable casualties of internet shutdowns last year. X, formerly Twitter, was the most frequently targeted platform, experiencing 10,683 hours of disruption. TikTok, despite being relatively new to the scene compared to other social media giants, was blocked extensively. In 2023, TikTok was blocked more than legacy platforms like WhatsApp and Facebook.
Surfshark reports that Belarus, approaching parliamentary elections, previously suffered the most internet and social media disruptions. X was especially disrupted in Belarus, impacting political engagement during its last presidential vote.
